After a months-long stalemate, school districts in Michigan finally have an answer to what their budget looks like for the school year.
Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner with Traverse City Area Public Schools tells us that it was hard getting to this point, but have had time to process what happened and how it affects the area.
Districts like Buckley Community Schools, while happy progress has been made, are frustrated with how it happened.
Superintendent Jessica Harrand say “The uncertainty and the lack of, an interactive process in the budget creation is really concerning. Not just at like, a school leader level, but also our legislators didn’t give us information because they didn’t know ”
The budget includes $10,050 in per pupil funding, as well as $321 million in school safety and mental health funding.
Dr. VanWagoner tells us “the school safety and mental health that was raised and then they created two separate competitive grants that we don’t automatically get. So there’s a competitive grant that we have to write grant applications for to the state Department of Ed, for us, for the, mental health workers. So we have an opportunity to maybe try and get some more counselors and social workers, but we’re gonna have to write for a competitive grant for that, as well as, school safety. ”
There will also be $201.6 million for free breakfast and lunch for all 1.4 million Michigan public school students.
Jessica Harrand, Buckley Community Schools Superintendent “No cost Breakfast and lunch for our students has been something that, we have found to be a great benefit. When we, we’re able to offer that we saw a huge increase in our students that were accessing school, provided breakfast and lunches.”
The budget also doubles down on literacy, using science of reading literacy strategies and funding more screening for dyslexia.
Schools district large and small shared thoughts on the budget and how it impacts their futures.
Dr. VanWagoner says they will analyze every dollar and see where that aligns to what they had budgeted, adding he is thankful it is all done.
Harrand, however, says he has no concept of what the next year looks like, “because no one has told us what money they’re using in the state aid to replace the money they took out. ”
But now that education has reached the light at the end of the tunnel, they are hoping to get things back on track.